Molecular & Structural Biology

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Altered microbiome in fruit flies can drive evolutionary change

The expression "you are what you eat" has taken on new meaning. In an experiment in fruit flies, or Drosophila melanogaster, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have found that adding different species of microbes to the flies' food caused populations to diverge genetically, racking up significant genomic changes in just five generations.

18 Sep 2019

UT Southwestern researchers identify novel mechanism that regulates fat formation

In work suggesting new therapeutic targets to fight obesity, UT Southwestern researchers have identified a novel mechanism that regulates the creation of fat in mammals.

18 Sep 2019

Nanoscale syringe-like bacterial structures could be used to deliver novel drugs

By scraping tubeworms off the bottom of boats in the San Diego harbor to study them, San Diego State University researchers discovered that a beneficial bacterium that aids them in establishing colonies could also be a boon for human health, because the same process might already take place in the human gut.

17 Sep 2019

Synthetic cell intercepts and deciphers hidden messages of the immune system

When immune cells detect harmful pathogens or cancer, they mobilize and coordinate a competent defense response.

17 Sep 2019

Sleep deprivation affects fat metabolism

We're all a little short on sleep during the work week. A new study adds to the mounting evidence about just how harmful lack of sleep can be.

16 Sep 2019

Scientists to study how cellular circuits recycle proteins

Human cells break down excess or unusable proteins into amino acids they can use, but scientists do not understand the process.

16 Sep 2019

B-cell subtypes play essential role in immune response to melanoma

When it comes to further developing modern immunotherapies, cancer research has so far concentrated on T-lymphocytes.

13 Sep 2019

Distinctive characteristics in lung cancers could be key to personalized therapies

Melbourne researchers have discovered that the key to personalized therapies for some types of lung cancers may be to focus on their differences, not their similarities.

13 Sep 2019

B cells may play an important role in immunotherapy for melanoma

Researchers at EMBL's European Bioinformatics Institute and the Medical University of Vienna have found evidence that B cells might play an important role in immunotherapy for melanoma.

13 Sep 2019

Breath-based tests could benefit from modeling of the underlying biology

Breath-based tests are gaining in popularity as a non-invasive diagnostic tool for a growing number of medical conditions. Research into improving the collection and analysis of these tests will be presented today at the American Physiological Society Interface of Mathematical Models and Experimental Biology: Role of the Microvasculature Conference in Scottsdale, Ariz.

13 Sep 2019

Discovery opens up new opportunities to understand the genetics of cancer

University of Delaware molecular biologist Mona Batish and collaborators at Harvard Medical School and University of California, Los Angeles, have identified a new circular ribonucleic acid (RNA) that increases tumor activity in soft tissue and connective tissue tumors.

13 Sep 2019

Study provides new insights into how astrocytes help the brain process information

A collaboration between the laboratories of Vincent Bonin (NERF, empowered by VIB, imec and KU Leuven) and Matthew Holt (VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research) reveals that noradrenaline plays a key role in how astrocytes - star-shaped cells in the brain closely associated with neurons - track distinct information during behavior.

12 Sep 2019

Scientists use CAR-T cells to reverse cardiac fibrosis

Scientists have used CAR-T cell therapy to treat cardiac fibrosis, a key part of heart disease and cardiac arrest.

12 Sep 2019

New technique for autonomous coordination of cell subpopulations

For years, scientists have explored ways to alter the cells of microorganisms in efforts to improve how a wide range of products are made - including medicines, fuels, and even beer.

12 Sep 2019

Accelerating Nanobody Production using Polyclonal Anti-VHH Antibodies

In this interview, Dr. Dave Fancy, CEO of Jackson ImmunoResearch explains how anti-VHH antibodies can be used to produce nanobodies and VHH libraries.

From Jackson ImmunoResearch Laboratories, Inc. 12 Sep 2019

Scientists identify molecule that plays key role in determining fate of cells under stress

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have identified a molecule that plays a pivotal role in determining the fate of cells under stress, much like a Roman emperor deciding the fate of gladiators in the coliseum.

12 Sep 2019

Gene coding error likely responsible for rare form of inherited 'short telomere' disease

By combing through the entire genetic sequences of a person with a lung scarring disease and 13 of the person’s relatives, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers say they have found a coding error in a single gene that is likely responsible for a rare form of the disease and the abnormally short protective DNA caps on chromosomes long associated with it.

From Johns Hopkins Medicine 11 Sep 2019

YCC scientists uncover key to help treat many forms of cancer

Yale Cancer Center (YCC) scientists have uncovered the workings of a metabolic pathway or "gauge" that lets cancer cells detect when they have enough nutrients around them to grow.

11 Sep 2019

Brain circuit regulates individual responses to temptation cues, rat study finds

Differences in a key brain circuit may suggest why some individuals are less able than others to resist tempting cues, according to a study in rats published today in eLife.

11 Sep 2019

Salk researchers develop method to reveal epigenetic features of brain cells

The brain's prefrontal cortex, which gives us our ability to solve problems and plan ahead, contains billions of cells. But understanding the large diversity of cell types in this critical region, each with unique genetic and molecular properties, has been challenging.

10 Sep 2019